How to Buy Nail Polish
Your fingers and toes speak volumes about your personality and grooming habits. Whether you opt for a clear polish or choose a dazzling shade to complement your wardrobe, this is no time to go with cheap products that can't stand up to your daily activities. Make the correct choices when selecting nail polish by looking at what you'll wear and where you're going. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Take a critical look at the current condition of your fingernails and toenails. Are they discolored, ragged, chipped, or all at uneven lengths? Applying polish to a poor surface is not unlike painting over a dirty wall or putting a layer of makeup on a face that hasn't been properly washed.
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Schedule a manicure/pedicure (or perform a manicure/pedicure yourself) in order to get those fingers and toes prepped for a fresh coat of polish.
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Analyze your skin tone and hair color. If you have a dark complexion and dark hair, you're going to look fabulous with bright, bold colors for your nails such as reds, purples and metallics. If you're at the other of the spectrum with fair skin and light hair, you'd be better suited to pale shades such as soft pinks and beige. Complexions with olive undertones would be complemented with warm polishes that hint of auburn (i.e., orange, tangerine and copper). If you can find, a copy of "Color Me Beautiful" by Carole Jackson (1987), it was one of the first texts that taught women how to define themselves by each of the four seasons. If you're unsure which colors really look best on you, this is a good starting point and will help you pick out complementary shades of nail color.
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Consider the image you want to project. If you're a professional career woman whose working wardrobe consists primarily of tailored suits, your associates and clients may raise their eyebrows if you show up tomorrow sporting fingernails that are painted black or neon green. On the other hand, if you have an artsy job or if you're a student, probably no one will think twice if you do something weirdly radical such as having every nail painted a different color.
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Evaluate what kind of polish you need to stand up to the tasks you perform on a regular basis. If you spend a lot of time on a computer keyboard or playing a musical instrument, for example, you're going to want a polish that doesn't easily chip. If your hands spend a lot of time in water, your nail color is going to fade and become dull. If you run around barefoot on sandy beaches, the abrasive nature of the sand will wear down the finish faster than if you wear shoes.
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Research different brands of polish before you buy. This is one area where you don't want to buy a product just because the bottle seems ridiculously cheap; the cheap stuff could actually be harmful to your nails in addition to chipping, flaking and peeling after only a few days of wear.
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Ask friends who have attractive nails what brands they would recommend. If you go to a professional manicurist, ask her which brands she likes to carry for her customers.
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Match your outfits to your nail polish and not the other way around. If you buy a perfectly adorable sweater in a distinctive shade of magenta, you're going to drive yourself crazy driving all over town and buying copious amounts of polish to try to find one that is the exact color. Instead, pick a shade that complements the majority of items and color schemes in your wardobe and stop stressing.
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If it's a slow day at the nail salon and you feel adventurous about trying something new, pick out three shades and ask your manicurist to apply a different one to each of three fingers. Nail polish not only looks different indoors and out but also looks differentin the bottle versus on your actual fingernails. Decide which one you like best, have her remove the polish from the other two fingers, and paint all of your nails the new color you've chosen. Make note of the brand and color name so you can purchase it yourself from a store.
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Ask if you can step outside with a nail polish bottle before you purchase it. The reason is that polish looks different inside than it does outdoors. Obviously not every salesperson will allow you to do this so it's best to try it at drugstores or beauty boutiques where you have already established a good relationship with the sales staff and they trust you not to run off without paying.
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Tips & Warnings
If you buy your nail polish from a drugstore, ask about the store's return policy if you realize the shade isn't quite what you want after you get it home.
If you're doing work that could be injurious to your nails (including washing dishes), wear a pair of gloves.
If you're looking for a perfect dress for a formal occasion, take a bottle of your nail polish with you and ask a salesperson's assistance in finding a gown that would look nice with it. It's much easier than carting your gown into every drugstore and trying to make an intelligent match under bad fluorescent lighting.
If you're unsure whether the nail polish you've chosen is right for you after you have put it on all your fingers, try the Marilyn Monroe trick. Walk away from your reflection in a mirror and then turn quickly. If the very first thing you notice is your nail color, it's going to be a distraction from the rest of you.
It's permissible to have the polish on your fingers a different shade from the polish on your toes unless they clash horribly with one another.
Always let your first coat of polish dry slightly before you put on the second coat, otherwise it will "bubble" and can only be fixed by completely taking it off and reapplying.
